All It Took Was Hey
by Purple Lace
Summary: He still had an astonishingly handsome face, and smile that could melt the hearts of any girl he wanted. All it took was a simple hello and she began to spiral downwards again.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first attempt in a very long time to write a fanfic, so I really hope it goes over ok. I apologise in advance if it full on sucks. It's going to be a three-shot takumi, the reason for the three parts is cause once again, kinda out of practice so hopefully i can get a little feedback before i finish the second and third part. A note though, the first part is pretty internal and narrated, however the second and third part I promise will be far more dialogue oriented so please try not to fall asleep :P So it's more like a two-shot with a really long back story.**

**Thanks, and hope you enjoy.**

**All it Took Was Hey**

_Izumi found herself in a lush field of flowers, the colours brightly gleaming everywhere. She looked down to see herself dressed almost completely in purple, a look she hadn't sported since grade school. There was a light breeze whipping her hair about, she noticed it was the bright yellowy blond her hair used to be. All of a sudden she was hoisted into the air, a pair of butterfly wings on her back 'this...this feels so familiar' she thought to herself. She was flying towards something in the distance; she could vaguely make out a figure. As she came closer and closer a bright glint shone in her face blinding her momentarily. 'what the hell!' she cried as she stopped momentarily to rub her eyes. As she came closer she found the culprit, a pair of large goggles seemed to be perched atop a cap on the figures head. She became more and more intrigued as to who the character was, she started to make out his appearance; a red button up with a yellow shirt underneath, and shorts. She was almost there, she was dying toknow now. Just... a... little_

*Beep, beep, beep*

"Shut. Up." She mumbled to her alarm clock. Her hand met her head as she rubbed to top of her hair, she was trying her hardest to remember her dream. Izumi looked at the blue wall of her room while she thought. _There was flying, and flowers... _she remembered, but she struggled to picture the rest. "Fuck it. I can never remember those things"

She got up out of her bed. Even though she couldn't remember the dream, she felt weirdly awake and peppy. She took it as a sign that it must have been a happy dream, and took it as a sign of a good day. She walked into the bathroom and examined herself in the mirror before completing her morning routine. A twenty four year old Izumi Orimoto stared back at her. From top to bottom she was as different as she could be from the average Japanese woman, the way she had been for as long as she could remember. At five foot seven she was defiantly taller than almost every female co-worker, hell she was taller than half of the guys, especially with heels on. She was thin like most other Asians but her willowy limbs were heavily complemented by a striking hourglass figure. However what really set her apart was her natural blond hair, a gift from her Italian mother. It had become darker over the years and developed some curl to it, but still a radiant natural blond.

After readying herself for work she walked into her kitchen to make herself some coffee and breakfast, only to find to her dismay that she had run out of coffee grounds. _And there ends happy day vibe. _She inwardly groaned, but resolved to grab her daily dose of caffeine along the way. As she opened the front door on her apartment she caught a glimpse of outside, her eyes hovered over the window as she took in the sight of the city. Tokyo. This was her life, where she spent most of her life, occasionally moving sectors, but always remaining in the city. The hustle and bustle, the thriving business, and the people, this was the heart of her city. She smiled as she walked out and locked the door behind her.

Walking towards Shibuya station was one of her favourite parts of the day, it almost always brought back a wave of nostalgia. Memories began to flood; the digital world, the adventure, and most of all her former comrades. It all seemed like a dream now. _A dream...? _ Whenever she thought of them she felt a pang of guilt. Of all of them J.P. was the only one she ever still kept in contact with, and that was only because he worked in the neighbouring building, they had come upon each other by chance. Throughout her childhood the six of them were almost inseparable; despite the fact they attended different schools. They had a bond that couldn't be broken by any outside force. Inside forces however were a different story.

After high school it was her who had drifted away from everyone. _It's my fault were no longer friends._ She always hated herself for what she had done to the group, but always tried to remind herself that it was to protect her own heart. It had gotten to the point where it hurt too much to even be near him, Takuya. What had started out as an innocent crush had grown into a full blown heartache by the time they had all graduated.

She thought back to when they were younger, they would joke, laugh, and openly flirt. There was even an incident one Christmas when Kouichi had snuck a piece on mistletoe above the doorway just as the two of them walked through. They kissed, but to her it seemed to last longer than she thought a friendly kiss would. She knew she didn't want it to stop but she remembers it being almost as if he didn't either. Tommy had even made a bet as to when they would start dating. But as time went on, nothing happened, they stilled carried on the way they always had, her heart always begging to be let in. He never made a move, and being the young naive girl that she was, was scared of rejection, even worse, scared of rejection from her best friend. Then he had gotten his first girlfriend, and that was it, her heart was shattered into a million and two pieces. If he had ever liked her as more than a friend, that time had come and gone and she was left standing alone.

She knew she would never get over him if she was always around him, so after they had graduated she began to cut her ties. She didn't mean to cut them with everyone, but they were all so intertwined with each other it couldn't have been helped. Where there was Takuya there was Kouji, the best friend. Their friendship was the strongest and nor hell nor high water would ever break them apart. Of course she couldn't hang out with Kouichi without having Kouji be there half the time, and with Kouji came Takuya. Tommy was practically Takuya's brother, and while J.P. still hung out with them, and her him, he would always note that something was different when he saw the others. It was a difference he couldn't describe but it was something that even thought they were still close, had created tiny rifts between them.

It was working as far as she could tell; he slowly became less and less part of her thoughts and dreams. _Dreams... there's that word again. What the hell is it today with me and dreams? _And she finally began to feel like she was free from him. She had tried her best to avoid them but it seemed that fate had other plans. Not two years later had she run into Takuya while on her morning commute to her then job. He had grown even taller, and had filled out his shoulders to reveal defined muscles under his t-shirt. He still had an astonishingly handsome face, and smile that could melt the hearts of any girl he wanted. All it took was a simple hello and she began spiral downwards again.

-Flashback-

"_Hey! Zoe!" _

_She hadn't heard her childhood name since school, and it immediately caught her off guard. She turned around to see the one guy she had spent the last two years avoiding._

"_Takuya!" her exclamation was startled and she knew it "It's been so long! How are you?"_

_He pushed his way through the hordes of passengers to get to her, only to wrap her in a giant bear hug. She could feel her legs giving way under her own weight in his embrace._

"_It's been going ok, hasn't been the same without you, but I've been coping. How come you never called any of us? Finally got sick of us after all those years?" he joke, his laugh was warm and happy, the way she always remembered it._

_She paused, thinking quickly "Ha, you could say that, I couldn't get rid of you guys for seven years, then I finally had my chance and took it" It was meant as a joke back but she could see his expression falter for a moment, and she felt a slight guilt._

"_Yeah, but had some good times though, even if you had to put up with us" he flashed another one of his smiles and she felt her heart skip a beat. "But listen I actually have to get off at the next stop, why don't you take my number and text me or give me a call when you're free and we can hang out, chat about old times" With that he pulled out a pad and pen, scribbled down his number and handed it to her. He gave her another hug before leaving "it was really great running into you again" he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and he was gone._

_She had debated calling him all afternoon and into the next morning. 'I can do this. I have to prove to myself that I can meet up with him, talk, and not cry like a stupid fucking school girl after'. And with that she picked up her phone and sent him a text._

"_Hey it's Izumi, you were right, it was great running into each other. I'm free anytime after 4:30 next week if you want to meet up and grab coffee or something"_

_After sending it she stared at it for some time, hoping for a reply. 'Obviously he's busy; I can't expect him to have waited around for a call from me.' She put down her phone and left it for the rest of the day, almost scared to pick it up for the rest of the day, scared of what, she had no idea. But when she checked it that night, she still didn't have a reply. 'He's probably still one of those people who just never check their phone. He was like that back in school old habits die hard.' But as the next day went by she had almost given up, and by week's end she had given up, only to find a message from him a full seven days after her own was sent. _

"_Hey : ) sorry it took so long to reply i've been really busy...but that's no excuse...anyways does Wednesday work for you?_

_-Taki "_

_She replied as soon as she read it, even if he hadn't paid her the same courtesy. "Sounds good, where and when?" She felt a little happier after sending it, 'It's time I stopped shutting myself out' she thought. _

_Wednesday had come and gone without so much as a word from him. She was hurt, but was expecting him to call back with how sorry he was, and some lame excuse as to why he was busy, she was sure of it. A full week had come and gone again, but this time there wasn't any message, call or sign of him at all. Izumi felt a hurt she had never felt before, someone who used to be one of her best friends, someone she was once convinced she was in love with, had just completely blown her off without any reason. 'If he didn't want to ever see me again, he shouldn't have ever given me his number, he shouldn't have replied to my first message, he should have never said hello in the first place' that night she cried herself to sleep. She cried not because of a crush he had or thought she had, but because she knew she had just lost a friend, one of her first friends, one who didn't even care about her anymore. It was the last time she ever cried about him again._

-End flashback-

She had long since pushed _him_ to the back of her mind. She was over and done with him and moved on. She had a great job, friends, and a couple boyfriends at one point or another.

The normally thirty minute walk had flown by and she was now standing at the coffee house at the bottom of the train station. _'I haven't thought about him in years...why today?' _today was weird to say the least, while she had often dwelled on memories on her walk to Shabuya station, it was never this deep. She quickly walked up to the counter and placed her order, realising she was running late. As she was about to grab her coffee, she heard a voice that made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

"Hey! Zoe!"

_You have got to be kidding me!_

**So, let me know what you thought **

**If you thought it boring as hell , let me know that too. The second part is mostly written, but I defiantly want to do a bit of editing as well as finishing it before I posting.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is the second part. Also for those of you who didn't know when ever there is the **_**italic text **_**it's Izumi/Zoe's inner thoughts. Figured I should make that clear cause there's a lot of it here. Anyways read and enjoy.**

**All It Took Was Hey**

_No, no, no, no! This isn't happening! _Izumi's hands were shaking as she took hold of her coffee. She refused to turn around to see the person who was calling her.

"Zoe. Can't you hear me?" She felt a tap on her shoulder. She couldn't deny it now; she steadily took a deep breath and put on a smile. It was _him_. Why couldn't he just leave her be? It seemed to her that every time she had finally rid herself of him, he waltzes back as if to taunt her. She turned around, to face none other than Takuya. Since the last time she saw him, he hadn't changed a bit, still the height, hair and smile. Only this time she wasn't going to be fooled be him. This time she wouldn't let herself fall into a trap. _It's not really his fault you know_

"Takuya how are you?" She held out her hand to shake his. Her face was painted a sweet and happy facade, but inside she was screaming. _How are you? That's all I have to say to him? I should slap him right here on the spot and walk away, it's all he deserves. Yeah, that's mature holding a grudge because he blew me off years ago. I shouldn't even care what the hell he does at this point, if he wants to be an ass he can. Better yet, call him a jerk and throw my coffee in his face... but then I'll be left without coffee. SHUT UP! _

"Are you ok? You've been smilingand shaking my hand for about thirty seconds now." She snapped back to reality, silencing the arguments in her head.

"Sorry...I uh, haven't had my daily caffeine dose yet. Brain doesn't function properly" She laughed and held up her cup to take a sip, she relished the hot liquid as it made its way down her thought, but never taking her eyes off of him, hoping that he might just be an illusion. Fatigue? Drugs? Maybe she bonked her head this morning without realising it, she didn't care she just wanted him gone.

He returned her laugh and smiled "You've changed you know? The Zoe I knew used to hate coffee."

"Izumi. I go by Izumi now, and when I started working I realised why people drank it in the first place" It wasn't a lie, she did used to hate the stuff, but then while in college her roommate introduced her to it one night while trying unsuccessfully to study, and she'd been hooked ever since. Then it dawned on her, the only reason she didn't drink it before was because _he _said he used to hate it. _Huh, another thing to add to his list of offences, deprival on essential fluids._

"You'll always be Zoe to me" He gave her a light punch to the shoulder.

_No! You shall address me by my name, like any normal person; in fact you should call me Izumi-san! _She gave him a genuine disapproving look. Beneath the simple look, Takuya saw anger, and plenty of it. He was taken back, in all the time that he had ever known her, he had never been on the receiving end of her anger. He knew it existed, he had seen it very rarely used on others, but NEVER on himself, or anyone of their friends for that matter.

Izumi could see that he was hurt, but she frankly couldn't care less. She wanted to be out of this room as fast as possible, and if that meant storming straight past him and making a scene, then she would do it.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to get to work, I'm already running late" She held her icy stare "Maybe you can call me sometime" The last words she made sure were cutting, she wanted him to remember what he had done, done to her as someone who was supposed to be her friend.

_For someone you're not supposed to care about, and that you're supposedly totally over, you sure are acting like a stuck up bitch! Whatever it's not like he cares. _But she knew her conscience had a point, she was mean, but like hell she was going to turn around and apologise!

As she began to walk away she felt someone grasp her hand. It's warmth clamped around refusing to let go. All of a sudden it was like the world stopped, she wasn't turning her back on Takuya the jerk, she was turning her back on Takuya the boy she had met when she was eleven. In that moment nothing that had ever come between them had mattered. She turned around to face him. His eyes were written with pain, and she knew that she was the one who had caused it.

"Please stay for a while...can we talk?" His voice was low and controlled.

"I..." _have to get to work, finish the damn sentence._ "I...sure, just give me a minute to let my work know i'll be late"

As she walked out the door she pressed the numbers on her cell phone. She left a message with her boss' secretary and hung up, but didn't put the phone down from her ear. She wasn't quite ready to go in yet. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She looked through the glass door at him. No matter how much she convinced herself she didn't care about him, or all the hurt he had put her through recent and past, he still meant something to her. What that was she had no idea, but his name, his memory, his presence, brought up strong feeling, not all of them good but all of them strong. She steadied herself and took a deep breath before she walked in.

"I thought you didn't like coffee?" She asked as she joined him at his table.

"Hot chocolate" He smiled as he showed her the milky contents. "So, they let you go in late?"

"Yeah, well I left a message. So what did you want to talk about?" She took another long sip from her cup, again never letting her eyes leave him, this time studying his every move.

"Anything, what are you doing now? How's life in general? You know... stuff. Are you seeing anyone?" The last question came out quieter than the others, but still detectable by her ears.

"Oh, well, I went through college in business, got a job in a marketing agency. The pay's good I get to live back in the Shibuya sector which I've always wanted to do. I...read alot? Ummm, not a whole lot at the moment. What about you?"

"I'm a writer, but I do mostly editing. I just moved back to Shibuya so I guess we'll be seeing each more of each other" he gave her a wink. "I recently rediscovered the Tokyo nightlife. I still see a lot of Kouji, Kouichi, J.P., and Tommy. J.P. actually mentioned that he sees you every once and a while. But you didn't answer my last question."

A blush started to creep up on her face, but she fought to suppress it. She wasn't going to let him know that he could still fluster her. "No, no I'm not seeing anyone. But I like having some time for myself. My last boyfriend was a bit...clingy. Nice guy, just not for me."

He gave her one of his smiles, and despite everything she let her heart melt all over again. She knew she shouldn't, it was just going to end the way it always did, With him leaving and her a crying mess. While he went on about his own life, she started to remember him for who she knew he really was a kind, caring, person. In fifteen minutes he had broken down every wall she had built up against him. She forgot all the negative feelings, like he was emitting an aura that only she could feel.

"...but I've always wanted to know, why did you cut off contact with us?" He looked at her now glazed over eyes, with his own.

"I beg your pardon?" She genuinely hadn't heard the last bit, she was still in her aura trance.

"I asked, why did you shut us out?" This time he was more insistent.

"What do you mean? I never did anything like that." Her voice was confident, and she made it clear that that was all she was going to say.

"You know what I mean, you dodged our calls, you refused to join us when we asked you to come out. Kouichi even wrote you a damn letter by hand that you never replied to!" This time he was impatient, he wanted an answer.

"I have no idea what you're talking about; I don't remember any of this. As far as I'm concerned, we just drifted apart." She was lying, she knew it, and she was pretty sure he knew it too. It might have been a long time since they'd seen each other, but they we're inseparable at one point, and that didn't come without knowing each other completely, through and through. "It's unfortunate, but a lot of people do move on and loose contact."

"Other people, but not us! You deliberately chose not to talk to us, I don't even care that you did it any more, I just want to know why!" He was almost yelling at her at this point, a few people in the shop were turning to see what the spectacle was.

"People are starting to stare, can we take this outside?" As she turned to leave she felt his hand on hers again, this time she didn't feel the warm childlike Takuya, this was his other side. The strong, forceful, and strong willed side. "No, I want my answer!"

"Why do you even care?" She whispered, her eyes were almost in tears. Everything emotion she had ever felt around him was flooding her, happiness, rage, fear, but most of all sadness. Her eyes were beginning to tear.

"Why would I care? What the hell kind of question is that? You were one of my best friends, I cared so much about you and you just left. I. Lost. You. It was like you died, you refused to even talk me!"

She stopped, she had never imagined that she had caused him pain by leaving, she thought that they'd all just forgotten about her.

_Does Wednesday work for you?_

Then she remembered. _You could have asked me this four years ago, I was willing to see you then! And you refused to see me. You left me without a word._

"Fuck you" she whispered

"What?" he suddenly let go of her.

"Fuck you!" She turned and left. She could hear him chasing after her. She flagged down a cab and told him to drive as fast as he could.

**So there is second part. Confused? Well I bet Takuya is too, and me for that matter. Don't worry, I know where it's going from here...hopefully :P Anyways, just a reference the whole izumi-san thing. The san is more a sign of respect, in japan only really close friends drop the suffix on peoples names. So yeah, zoe's a bit crazy and emotional, but I still love her anyways.**

**Anyways, please review, i'd love to hear your thoughts :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So I apologise very, very, very, very, much for how long this took to get out, school's a bitch...but you probably knew that. Anyways, I present you the final chapter.**

Izumi left the cab tears streaming down her face, the last half hour playing and replaying over and over in her head.

_Why do you have this affect on me? _She could barely fit the key into the slot of the entrance to her apartment building. Her hands were shaking too much. "Damn it!" She finally managed to open the door; she tore off her heels and ran straight to the stairs. She didn't want to stop moving, if she stood in the elevator she would have far too much time to think to herself, and that was the last thing she wanted. The cold concrete of the stairwell felt good against her feet as she bounded up them as fast as she could. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but it was not from the sudden physical activity she put herself through. _Stupid, stupid Takuya why can't you just leave me alone! _She felt sweat beading on her forehead, she didn't look anywhere except for directly ahead of her, her mind was reaching a point of deliriousness. Her only goal was to reach her floor get inside her apartment and fall on the couch. _ 8 flights... _Her pace was increasing, her feet were beginning to hurt from the pounding of her soles on the hard ground._9 flights... _She was starting to grab hold of the railing beside her as she leapt, she could feel her muscles protesting. _10 flights... _She was almost there, her tears were still streaming down her face as she ran, she wanted them to stop, she wanted her heart and head to both go numb. _11 flights... _What happened to the composed woman who he prided herself on being, to the Izumi who had finally gotten rid of her feelings for him. _12! _But as she reached the top of the last step her toe caught on the edge of the stair. She felt her legs give way, as her hands reached out in front of her grasping for something, and then everything went black.

_She was in the field of flowers again. This time however, she knew that she was dreaming. Her senses were heightened. Her head was spinning, the pieces were coming together. This was it, this was the dream the she struggled to remember almost every morning for the last month. She looked down at herself to see the familiar pale lavender skirt and stripped top, she knew what came next. Butterfly wings sprouted from her back as she flew higher and higher. Off in the distance she saw it, the figure in the distance. 'This time you're not getting away from me' she sped up, the wind blew ferociously in her face but she didn't care, the wind was a part of her. She started to make it out the cap and goggles, the tan shorts and red shirt. 'Just... a... little...' This is where she always woke up, but today she refused to let that happen. His back was turned. She was only a few feet away. She landed and took a deep breath, the area around her felt warm, as if the all around her was being heated by a mysterious force. 'This is it' she tapped him on the shoulder. _

"_No! No, no, no. Not you. Takuya leave me alone!" Tears began to well in her eyes. How could she have forgotten the outfit that he had worn the whole length of their adventure? She looked up, and he just stared at her. _

"_Leave me alone!" she yelled louder this time, but he stood there unfazed. _

"_Zoe" he finally spoke._

"_No! Go away!" She began to run. _

"_Zoe, please..." He appeared out of nowhere in front of her. She fell to her knees she could hear his voice surrounding her everywhere now. "Zoe..."_

"Zoe, common wake up, Zoe" She gave a barely audible mumble. "Please Zoe wake up"

"No, no, no, no..." She mumbled again, she was beginning to wake, her eyes gently fluttered. She slowly opened them "Takuya! What are you doing here?" She sat up and looked around to find herself inside her apartment. "How did I get here?"

She suddenly found herself wrapped in his arms. "I'm so happy you're ok" She could hear his voice wavering, as if he'd been crying.

She still didn't know what was going on, she tried to look around again but couldn't move with Takuya still holding her. "Takuya, what are you doing here? How did you even get in the building?" Her own eyes were beginning to water now as she remembered the events of the morning. This was her only safe place and he was invading it, her only place where she knew he could never be, but there he was.

He finally let her go and brought himself arms width away, his eyes stared at her. "After what happened earlier, I came to talk to you. I was hoping I'd find you here somewhere, when I found you on the stairs I grabbed your keys and figured out which unit was yours. Tea?"

He got up and walked to the open kitchen from where she was sitting, like it was his apartment, not hers.

"How'd you even know where I live?" She sat up fully rubbing her head, she felt around landing on the tender spot where she had fallen. Wincing, she drew back.

"It's a long story..." He didn't explain more.

"Fine, assuming you're not a crazy stalker, why did you come find me? Why do you care that much?" Her voice was firm and demanding. She watched him carefully as he re-emerged from the kitchen two cups of tea in hand.

He took a long deep breath. "How did we get here?"

"That's a good question, how did I get here? Last I remember I was in the stairwell. And don't answer my question with another question." She took the tea from him, she was still uncomfortable with the fact that he was in her home, though she had calmed down enough to at least keep herself from crying again.

"Well, when I found you're key's I carried you in, but that wasn't what I meant. I mean how did we get _here, _to the point where we can barely talk to each other, where you question why I care. I remember a time when you would be upset if I didn't, not if I did."

"That was a long time ago, and you know it. People change." She took a sip from her cup.

"Not as much as you would think." He looked at her solemnly. "I think underneath, you're still the same person."

"Hmph" she gave him an angry look "I don't know about that, I don't think the old you would completely blow off an old friend."

He gave her a look of genuine confusion.

"You don't even remember do you?" she put down her tea cup, she was afraid if she held onto it, that she would throw the hot liquid at him out of rage.

"A few years ago I ran into you on the bus, you told me to call you which I did but you never called back."

"Oh, that. And it was text if I remember." He looked down at the floor, his brown hair falling in front of his eyes.

"Are you serious, I ask you a question and you give a technicality as a response?" She stood up and walked over to the front door and opened it. "Please just get out."

"Zoe...Izumi, please don't do this, let me explain."

"Why?"

"Because I want to"

She debated it for a moment, if it wasn't in her nature to get to the bottom of everything she would have kept the door open and kicked him out, but she slowly closed it and started to walk back to him. She looked over; all of a sudden he looked older. Worry lines had crept onto his face giving him a mature appearance that didn't quite suit him.

"I was engaged at the time." He started. This first statement caught Izumi completely off guard, they were only twenty four now, how could he have thought about marriage when they were even younger? "I was really happy and she was a great girl, real nice, nice family too. I met her in school."

"What does this have to do with me? I don't get it" she crossed her arms and huffed again, the last think she wanted to hear were his romantic exploits.

"I'm getting there" he laughed "patience was never one of your strong suits."

"I wasn't yours either" she retorted

"Fair enough" He looked at her and smiled, it was weak, but genuine. "When I saw you again, I realised that my relationship was missing something that I needed. I didn't and still don't know what the hell it is, but whatever it is, I always had it with you."

If his first statement of his story had thrown her, this one had just launched her off a cliff. "What?" was all she could muster.

"Please don't freak out, it doesn't mean that I was in love with you the whole time I was seeing her, but all the time I was missing something, I... all I know is that it's something important." He turned his attention away, he didn't want to see her reaction "Seeing you again made me realise that it was something I could be without if I wanted to be with someone, I might be able to find it with someone else, I just, haven't yet."

Izumi thought back on her past relationships, none of them lasted long enough for her to ever consider marriage. But if she was being honest with herself, she knew what he was talking about. They did share something that she had never found with anyone else, weather it was facing down the world together or something else, it was palpable enough for them to notice.

"I'm sorry I didn't call back, but my plate was kind of full. I called off my engagement, and there was a solid year there where I went through life just existing, not knowing what to do." He suddenly panicked "I don't mean to freak you out be letting this all out at once, I'm sorry." The string of words came out almost too fast for Izumi to process.

"Wow" was all she could let out. She took a long draw from her now luke warm tea hoping that the herbal mixture would calm her back down, it didn't.

"Now answer my question"

She looked at him questioningly.

"Why did you pull away?"

A blush flushed her cheeks. She didn't want to admit it but, but after he had been so honest with her, she couldn't possibly not be with him. "It's kind of childish actually" she gave a low laugh remembering it all.

"What makes you think I ever grew up?" He laughed

"I had this crush on you since we had gotten back from the digital world, well not right away, but pretty soon after I saw you in this new light, and it became this love sick puppy. And it lasted all the way until we graduated, and I couldn't take it anymore so I drew away." She looked at him them back down quickly. "To make it go away. Stupid right? Looking back I can't believe I did it, but it did hurt, a lot. And if you remember I'm a bit of a pansy when it comes to pain."

"And now?"

"What?"

"And what about now?"

She really didn't know how to answer this. She had been so convinced that she didn't want anything to do with him, but after today, she didn't know.

"Like you said, there's something you can't explain that's there. We're stuck together one way or another... even if we're nowhere near the other. So where does that..."

She was cut off as Takuya gently lifted her chin to face him. He drew his own face closer, then their lips met. Before she knew it she had snaked her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. To anyone who would have seen them it would have looked like the kind of kiss that lovers might share after a long time apart at the airport. To them, their whole lives together up until this point was playing in their minds, nothing else existed except for them and this moment.

As they finally drew apart they looked at each other, not knowing what to say until Izumi finally spoke.

"You never told me how you knew where I lived."

"Oh" He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed "I kind of live in the same building."

"What?" She was shocked, how could she have never seem him, she lived in this building for over three years.

"Yeah, I moved in about a year ago, I didn't know you lived here until I saw you entering the lobby one day. I didn't know If I should have gone and talked to you or not, I was I dunno mixed up, I didn't know if you wanted to talk to me. Don't think of me as a creep or anything."

She laughed "Come on let get out of here" she stood up and reached out her hand. He stood and look down at her.

"I still don't know where this leaves us Izumi, but we can figure it out along the way." He opened the door for her.

"Zoe, I like it when you call me Zoe."

**A/N: Done! Was it the ultimate in cheesy endings? Well probably not the ultimate, but I had a hard time ending it without it being just a little fluffy.**

**Anyways give your final verdict, should I come back to writing, or should i just stalk the site and read and review and spare you all :P Let me know!**


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